Maine's startup landscape: Bug spray, potato tracker, elder care app

We all have our own mental image of a "startup." Whether the idea is formed by pitch competitions like Greenlight Maine or Top Gun, the Wall Street Journal or Inc. magazine or Guy Raz's "How I Built This," where the startups always seem to be valued at hundreds of millions of dollars before any of us have heard of them.

In this issue, Mainebiz offers up a range of startups. Some are tech companies, though many are not. Some are started by serial entrepreneurs, though many are not. Some seem like everyday items, though creatively positioned to fill a niche — the kind of products where you think, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Renee Cordes' cover story, "10 Maine startups to keep an eye on," has a good cross section of these companies. But don't overlook Laurie Schreiber's story about an Ellsworth incubator space or Renee's On the Record with an entrepreneurial lawyer.